Carton-sealing machine.



R. S. CLARKE.

-GARTON SEALING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR. s, 1911.

Patented July 30,1912.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

m HIJ R. S. CLARKE.

CARTON SEALING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. s. 1911.

Patented July 30, 1912.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

R. S. CLARKE. CARTON SEALING MACHINE.

Arrmouron FILED 1111.6, 1911.

Patented July 30, 1912.

R. S. CLARKE.

CARTON SELLING MACHINE.

APPLI'UATION FILED um. e, 1911.

1,034,344. Patented July 30, 1912. l 4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEroE.

RALPH S. CLARKEfOF EAS-T WALPOLE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO CHARLES S.

BIRD, OF EAST WALPOLE,1VIASSACHUSETTS.'

CARTON-SEALTNG MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Julyr 30, 1912.

Application filed March 6, 1911. Serial No. 612,488.

With the above object in view, the invenimprovement tion consists in the carton-sealing machine hereinafter described and particularly defined in the claims.

The invention will be readily understood from the following description taken in cony nection with the accompanying drawings in which-- Figure lis a top plan view of a machine embodying theinvention; Fig. 2 is la partial front elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view on an enlarged scale; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 3,; Fig. 5 is a detail view of a portion of the tripping mechanism for `automatically stoppmg the machine; Fig. 6 is a plan view-of one of the buckets attached to a spider arm; Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the same; and Figs. 8 to 14 inclusive showthe various stages of the operations for sealing a carton.

As illustrated in the drawings the machine comprises a horizontal rotatable spider l mounted on a verticalshaft 2, and provided with a gear ring 4, which meshes with a pinv ion 6 on a driving shaft 8. A driving pulley 10 is loosely mounted to rotate on the shaft 8. and coperates with a clutch mechanism 12. A hand lever '14 is attached tothe clutch 12 by means of which the shaft`8 may be brought into or out of driving relation with the pulley. At the outer extremity of each arm of the spider is a pocket 16 for. engaging the cartons and carrying them through the'machine for the folding and sealing operations. Each pocket 16 comprises a horizontal` base plate 18, a lvertical end wall or flange 20, and a pair of vertical side walls or flanges 22 and 24. The side wall 22 is inclined at an obtuse angle to the end wall 2O and is preferably formed inte- The side wall 24 may be made integralwith grally with the base plate and end wall. i

the base plate and end wall and at substantially right angles to said end wall, but said side wall 24 is preferably made adjustable so that its angular relation with respect to the end wall 20 may be variedto t the sidesof cartons that are not right angled, and said side wall is held in adjusted position by a bolt 25. The pockets are adjustably secured on the spider arms by bolts 26. A stop screw 28 is also provided having a nut 4'29 for engagementlwith the inner end of each base plate 18, to prevent the latter. from tilting.

The filled cartons vwith their top flaps in the position shown in Fig. 8 are brought to the machine on a conveyer belt 30, which4 is driven from a shaft 32, having a pinion 34, meshing with the gear ring 4. The cartons pass between vertical guides 86 and 37, the latter of which may be made adjustable to In the present instance the guide 87 is provided with an angle bracket 38, which is clamped in position by a thumb screw 39. A continuation 40 of the guide 36' is odset with relation thereto so that theend 41. of thevformer forms a stop by which the cartons are arrested in their forward movementuntil a pocket 16 comes into the position for receiving acarton, which position is shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The guide 40 is subaccommodate cartons of any desired width.

stantia-lly semifcircular and extends around the outer edge of a stationary support or table 42 upon which the cartons rest as they pass from the conveyer 30 and during their movement through the machine 'until they are placed upon a conveyer belt 44 upon the other side of the machine after the sealing operation is completed; The belt 44 is driven'from the shaft 46, `.which has a pinion 47 meshingwith vthe gear ring 4.

When a'pocket 16 arrlves at the cartonreceiving position shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the forward end of the carton 48 is swung inwardly so that it `may be moved by the .v

conveyor belt 30 past the projectingend 41 of the guide 40. This is accomplished by swinging inwardly a plate 50 or sect-ion of the guide 36, against which the foremost carton rests when against the stop 41. The rear portion of the side of the carton encounters a plate 49 on the end of the guide 37 and the carton is thus swung diagonally. The plate 50 is pivotally mounted on a pintle l51, the lower end of which is provided with a crank arm 52. The crank arm 52 is connected by a rod 54 to a, cam 55 on a shaft 56. This shaft is provided with a pinion 58 which meshes with the gear ring and is driven thereby. The relation of the parts is such that as the rod 54 is reciprocated,the crank arm 52 is oscillated and with it the plate 50 to swing a carton so that it `can be moved byv the conveyer and will enter a pocket 16, which is then in correct position for receiving the carton. The carton is then moved over the table 42 by the pocket for col -operat-ion with the various instrumentalities,

to be hereinafter described, for sealing the carton, and then delivered to the conveyer belt 44. If the cartons are not exactly rectangular, the flanges 24 of the buckets may be adjusted to lit the sides of the carton, so that as the carton moves through the machine its outer face will be held substantially parallel to the opposing face of the guide 40, and thus be moved freely through the machine Without any tendency to become jammed.

In case thata carton becomes j ammedl by virtue of an improper entry into a pocket,

` mechanism is provided whereby `the machine will be automatically stopped. To accomplish this, the guide 40 is provided with a movable section 60' which .is pivotally mounted at one end upon a shaft 62 journaled in bearings mounted on the guide 36.

The other end of the section 60 is pressed inwardly by a spring 64 on a bolt 65, whlch is carried by abracket 66. A strap 68 is secured tothe outer face of the movable section 60 and extends below the level of the conveyer belt 30. A rod 69 is secured at one end to the strap 68 and at the other end to aU-shaped trip 70, see Fig. 5, which is pivoted at 71 and engages the under side of a hook 72 on the end of the rod 73 connected to the hand lever 14. The hook 72 is adapted to pass through a hole 74 in a plate 75 mounted on a beam 76, and said hook engages the plate to keep the clutch 12 in driving relation with the driving plate 10. A

, spring 78 embraces the rod 73 and operates to free lthe clutch when the hook 72 is moved up by the trip 70 so that the hook can pass through the hole 74. When a carton is jammed against the section 60 of the guide, the free end of said section is swung outwardly and with it the rod 69, therebytilting the strip 70 and raising the hook 72 to free it from the plate 75, whereupon the sprin 78 causes the rod 73 to move the hand lever14 and free the clutch 12. The machine is thus automatically stopped.

After the carton passes from the conveyer belt 30 onto the table 42, the first operation performed thereon is to fold in the end flaps 80. This is done by a tucker composed of a swinging arm 82, which is given an intermittent oscillating movement by means of a path cam 84 on the shaft 56. The arm 82 is carried by a shaft having a rocker arm 85 to which a rod 86 is pivotally connected, said rod being operatively connected to the cam 84 whereby it is raised and lowered intermittently in timed relation with the movement of the cartons by the spider arms. The carton is then moved along under the winding guide which is composed of a curved plate having a somewhat pointed nose or front end, to the under side of which a shoe 91 is fastened, which engages the flap 92 and folds it inwardly over the end flap 80. The shoe 91 passes between the side flaps 93 and 94 as shown in Fig. 10 and forces them outwardly; and as they pass along under the widened portion of the winding guide or plate 90 they are spread out flat and the end flap 92 overlaps the end flap 80, as shown in Fig. 11. Then the carton is moved to the glue-applying mechanism, the flaps 93 and 94 passing between supporting rolls 95 and 96 on a shaft 101 journaled to rotate in bearings beneath the glue tank, and glue-applying sections 97 and 98, respectively of the glue roll. The glue roll is composed of two sections, 97 and 98, separated by a groove to prevent the glue from being applied to the end flaps 8O and 92. This roll is mounted to rotate at the front edge of the glue tank 99, which is heated by a hot water coil 100 connected to a tank 102. The coil 100 may be heated 'by means of a gas burner 104 supplied from a pipe 105. A branch 106 is also provided for sup lying water tothe glue to maintain it at t e proper consistency. The glue roll is mounted on a shaft 108 having a sprocket wheel 110 driven by a chain 111 from a sprocket wheel 112 on a shaft 114. The shaft 114 is provided with a gear 116 which meshes with a gear 117 on the driving shaft 8. By means of this mechanism the glue is applied to the upper faces of the side flaps 93 and 94, as shown in Fig. 11, or their inner faces when in sealed position on the carton.

When the carton emerges from the glueapplyingA mechanism the end flaps 80 and 92 pass under a center guide 120, the side flap 93 projects through the passage 121 between the center guide 120 and outer guide 40, and the ap 94 projects laterally from the center guide. As the carton moves onward, the underside of the flap 93 encounters the spiral rod or winding guide 122 and the ap is turned upward and inward thereby. Thereupon this flap passes under the winding rolls 124,125,126,127 and 128 which are mounted on shafts of varying degrees of angularity, and by which this flap is turned and folded down upon the end iaps 80 and 92, as shown'in Fig. 13. In the meantime the side flap 94 encounters the curved rod or winding guide 130 by which it is gradually turned up as it passes pulley 133 on the shaft 108, and over idlers:

135 and 136. After the carton passes the winding rolls 132, it leaves the table 42 and passes onto the conveyer belt 44. A belt 140 rests upon the top of the carton and is pressed down upon it vby a series of rolls 141 which are journaled to rotate in slotted bearings 142 and aid to press the top flapsfirmly together `unt-il the carton reaches the end of the conveyer belt 44, where it is taken away or stored or placed in a box for shipment.

1n order to enable the machine to be readily adjusted for cartons of any desired height, the folding and sealing instrumentalities are all connected to a support 150, and mechanism is provided whereby these instrumentalities may all be raised or lowered simultaneously. The support 150 is mounted on a series of slides 152, 154, 4156, 158 and 160 which are mounted in guides 162 secured dte the frame of the ma'- chine. The slides 158 and 160 are provided with overhanging arms 164 to which a support 166 is secured. This support carries the winding guide 130 and the windin rolls 132. The slides 152 to 160 lare eacprovided with a screwfthreaded bo'ss 168, which receives a screw 169 rot-atively mountedy in the guide 162 and provided with a sprocket wheel 170 at its lower end. The sprockets 170 cooperate with a chain v172.

Depending fromthe glue tank 99 is a slide 174 carried by a guide 176 secured to the frame ofthe machine. A screw-threaded shaft 178 is provided, having a sprocket 180 which coperates with the chain 172, and a hand wheel 182 by means of which the slide may beraised and lowered. The relation of the sprockets and screws is such that lf/when the shaft 178 is turned to raise or lower the'slide 174, all of the sprockets 170 are turned by the chain 172 and the screws 169 are rot-ated to correspondingly raise or lower 4the slides connected therewith. When the parts are properly adjusted they are secured in adjusted position by suitable bolts.

Having thus described vmy invention I claim as new and desire to secure by Let/,ters Patent. K

1. In a carton sealingxmachine, the com` bination with a conveyer, of a vertical guide provided with an odset portion forming a` stop, a rotary series Vof pockets, means for moving a section of the guide laterally to bring a carton into the path of said pockets, and means coperating with said guide for stopping t-he .machine in the event that a carton. becomes jammed therein.

2. In a carton sealing machine, the combination with a conveyer, of a vertical guide provided with an oisetyportion/forming a stop and provided with laterally movable portion and a yielding section, a rotary series of pockets, means for operating said laterally movable portion of said guide to bring a carton into the path of said pockets, and a clutch mechanism coperating with said yielding section, whereby the machine is automatically stopped when a carton be- Witnesses U. J. MILLER,

H. C. IWrrr.

comes jammed against the yielding section 

